Ask Malik!
by Moonsp1r1t
Summary: Ask page where users can ask Malik Al-Sayf a question and he will write a letter in response. Still accepting questions!
1. Introduction and Rules

Alright! So, lately, I've been want for ideas for writing Assassin's Creed fan fiction (other than random short stories). However, I decided that, other than taking requests, I could try something else; an ask and answer page.

So, before we get started, lets lay down a couple of rules:

1\. Feel free to ask Malik almost anything, but nothing too mature.

2\. Try to ask things Malik can actually write a story in response to, and not just one-sided things like "What's your favorite color" or "What's the weather like today?"

3\. The date is June 14th, 1200. Malik is 35 years old. Altaïrhas not yet left for Mongolia with his family, his children are still children, and he spends most of his time leading the order and staring into the Apple. You may ask Malik questions previous to this point, but do not ask questions about events that take place afterwards.

4\. Beware of pairings.

5\. Malik and I will try to stick to canon, so please try to do the same when asking questions.

6\. Ask questions anonymously, and please try to write then in letter format.

7\. We will probably not have time to answer every question, but Malik and I will do our best, so please be patient with us.

8\. Have fun!

(Also, please note that I am doing this from the family IPad, as I do not have a computer any longer, so I apologize in advance if it takes me a little while to update, but I will do my best!)


	2. Altaïr's Leadership

Malik,

As Altaïr's second in command as mentor, how has the brotherhood fared? Is Altaïr doing really what you believe he needs to do as mentor? Is the Apple in your concerns, turning Altaïr to Al Mualim's late behavior? And the Apple, come to think of it... what benefits has it brought to you all?

Safety and peace, Brother.

-The Last Gamer

Safety and peace, Last Gamer.

The Brotherhood is prospering, thank you. Altaïr, since he became Mentor, has made several changes to how our order is run. For example, Al Mualim instructed the assassins to distance themselves from their families; fathers would not get to know their sons and vice versa. He believed that such attachments would make his assassins weak. However, Altaïr, when his eldest son, Darim, was born a few years ago, abolished this rule. When I questioned him on his reasoning for this, he told me that he did not see how loving someone in such a way could be perceived as weakness.

Of course, there are a handful of assassins that disagree with Altaïr's methods of leading the order. Abbas, especially, has been annoyingly vocal about his opinions of Altaïr's leadership. On occasion he complains about me as well, arguing that a cripple shouldn't be the grandmaster's right hand man. However, Altaïr and I both acknowledge that we won't be able to please everyone, no matter what we do for the order.

As for Altaïr as Mentor, I do not believe that there would have been a better choice. After Al Mualim's betrayal, a small council of the wisest Dai was assembled, and they all listened to Altaïr's testimony of what had happened while everyone was under the influence of the Apple. I, myself, gave my account of what had happened after I returned from my rounds at each of the bureaus in Jerusalem, Damascus, and Acre.

Maybe about three days after my return, the council came to a decision. I asked who they had chosen ahead of time, before they had released the information publicly. I was also told that a couple of them had suggested that I take leadership, but I am glad that they chose Altaïr instead; I would have declined. I firmly believe that Altaïr is the best man for the position, and his leadership of the order over the past few years have proved this.

As for the Apple, both Maria and I have attempted numerous times to convince Altaïr to rid himself of it, though he never listens. He insists that he can learn something from it. Unfortunately, this means that he locks himself in his study for days on end, not eating or resting, just staring into it, often leaving me to deal with leading the order.

Once, I had found him in his study, rambling to himself in what I thought might have been English. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he flew into a frenzy, attacking me; he did not recognize me. He had me against the wall with his hidden blade pressed against my neck. He was about to kill me when I shouted his name. That's when he came out of the trance, and he released me, horrified.

I can see no good in that thing. That thing corrupted Al Mualim, made Altaïr loose his mind, and I lost my arm and my brother to it. I fail to see how something that can cause such strife can be beneficial, but at the end of the day, it is Altaïr's decision, not mine.

I hope I have answered your questions adequately.

-Malik Al-Sayf


	3. Al-Sayf

Dear Mr. Malik,

I know that in the Middle East, people don't really have last names, so how did you receive the nickname Al-Sayf?

-Random Person

Dear Malik,

What is your weapon of choice? Like, how do you use it and stuff?

-Silver Frost

* * *

Safety and peace.

I am answering these together, since they sort of go hand in hand in hand.

The former is correct in your knowledge in that we do not typically have what you call "last names." Usually we have titles. For example, for the longest time Kadar and I were called Ibn-Faheem. The son of Faheem. Even Altaïr, for the longest time, was called Ibn-Umar, until he became a Master Assassin and informed everyone that he wished to be referred to as Ibn-La'Ahad. Al-Sayf means "The Sword," so hopefully that answers the latter's question.

People didn't begin to call me Al-Sayf until a few years after we began our assassin training. Our parents had died earlier that year, and I had been spending most of my time caring for Kadar, as he wouldn't begin his training for a couple more years, so I hadn't had as much time as I had had before to practice.

It was a hot summer's day when our instructor, Labib, said that we would be using real swords that day.

The other Novices and I tittered in excitement. We had only used real swords once before, and that ended in a fiasco, as Abbas had attempted to kill Altaïr.

But I digress.

We all jostled for position in line to get our swords from the rack that the instructor was presenting us with. I was towards the back of the line, but it did not matter. All of the swords were nearly identical, accept for their weight.

By the time I got up there, all of the lighter swords had been taken, and there were only three left, all of them dreadfully heavy. I took the lightest of the three, and dragged it out to the ring.

When I faced my opponent, I realized, with horror, that I could barely lift the damn thing. Across the ring, my opponent openly laughed at me. He mocked me and teased me, twirling his much lighter sword in his hand.

Needless to say, I suffered an abysmal defeat. My face burned with shame and humiliation for the rest of the day at my failure. It came as no surprise to me that, over the next few days, the other boys in my training group continued to taunt and tease me. I began to hear whispers of the other boys calling me Al-Sayf as a taunt, as what I suppose was an attempt at irony.

It was as if a fire had been lit in the pit of my stomach. I would show them. I would show all of them that I was the best swordsman in our novice group.

So I trained. I stayed late in the yard after everyone else had left. I forwent meals. I stayed up studying and practicing far after I had put Kadar to bed. I did all this and more, until I could wield any blade, no matter the weight, size, or length. I won't go so far to say that I was a master; it would be many years before I would even be close. However, I felt confident in my abilities that I was, at least, among the best of my peers.

Next time Labib said that we were to use real swords, I was determined. It didn't matter to me what type of sword I would receive, nor who my opponent was, though I was pleased to note that I received the same as before.

When it was our turn, and we took our stances in the ring, I can still remember his exact words. "Ready to suffer defeat at my blade, once again, Al-Sayf?"

My corner of my mouth turned upwards into a smirk and I did not grant him the satisfaction of a response. I held my sword at the ready, pointed at his chest, my hand steady, as I waited for my fellow Novice to make the first move.

The match lasted about thirty seconds. It seemed that the next thing I knew, my opponent was flat on his back, his face scratched, completely winded as the tip of my sword pointed at his neck. I grinned at him and swiped my sword to the side, turning to look at my peers and our teacher, all of them, I'm pleased to note, looked suitably stunned.

From then on, everyone, and not just my fellow novices, called me Al-Sayf, the sword.

-Malik Al-Sayf


	4. Second in Command

Dear Malik,

How do the majority of assassins take your promotion to Altair's second in command? Apart from Abbas, do they respect your authority? What are your main duties as second in command?

-Adler

Safety and peace, Adler.

Most of the assassins trust Altaïr's judgement about my placement within the order. Those who are not particularly fond of me personally believe that if Altaïr thinks me the correct person for the job, then I am.

Of course, there are a handful of assassins that believe that it is not a cripple's place to be second in command in a powerful organization such as the Brotherhood.

In my society, if someone is mad or visibly crippled, as I am, you are automatically considered a lesser being. My editor has informed me that this fact will remain true until the mid 1700s. While I can't say that I am content with this, it is a fact I have grown to accept.

However, Masyaf is better than Jerusalem. In Jerusalem guards would shove me around for the fun of it; they treated the mad and the lepers that wandered the street the same way. Random thugs would attempt to rob me and pickpocket me. I would fight back when I could, but I couldn't most of the time, as I would have given away my position as a former assassin. If they found out what I was I would have been killed on the spot, or, more likely, handed over to Majd Addin or Robert de Sablé to attempt to torture me into giving up the secrets of the order.

Masyaf, however, is much better. I command a certain degree of respect here. I acknowledge that I likely gained this respect from Altaïr's influence, fear of my wrath, and my former position as a high-ranking assassin. (I did not quite achieve the rank of Master Assassin; I was only one rank behind. I imagine that, if the mission hadn't failed so spectacularly, I would have been raised to that rank after Solomon's Temple).

As for my duties as Altaïr's right hand man, they are not spectacularly different than my duties as the Dai of Jerusalem; they just occur on a much larger scale. Though I no longer have to treat injured assassins (we have surgeons here who are well trained, as apposed to the simple first aid training all Bureau leaders receive) I still decide when it's safe to send which assassins where, I plan routes through the kingdom, and, of course, go through paper work, which is the majority of what I do.

I also find myself watching over Altaïr when he is studying the Apple, just to make sure that nothing bad happens to him, or to anyone around him. He has offered me to gaze into it as well, but I declined; I still believe that it would be best if that thing was locked away somewhere, forever.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	5. First Kill

Highly respected Mr. Malik,

What was your first assassination mission like? What weapons did you use? Who was your target? How did you prepare? Did you have anyone helping you or you went solo?

With all the greetings of this world,

\- Just some random curious guy

Safety and peace.

Now, do you mean my first ever kill, my first human kill, or my first assassination assignment? Because each one is a very different story.

My very first kill was a mountain goat that had been eating the clothing lines of the people in the village below Masyaf. I estimate that I would have been about twelve. The masters always give novices an animal as their first kill, to see if they can handle it or not. If they can't, their path of training usually diverts into becoming an Informant. If they can handle killing an animal, they have us practice more and more, having us work up to actually being able to kill a human being.

The first human life I had taken I had been partnered with Altaïr and Rauf when we were about fifteen. We were being closely supervised by our teacher, Labib. We were visiting each of the cities to locate the Assassin Bureau there and get a general layout of each one.

We were on a rooftop, and Labib was instructing us on how to jump and fall safely when a handful of guards spotted us. Rauf jumped into the haystack below. Labib, Altaïr, and I pulled out our weapons.

I remember clearly, as the guards approached us, Labib shouted for us to jump, but we both ignored him.

I chose one of the guards at random and threw a knife at him. It hit him in the knee, though I was aiming for the head. I threw myself at the guard, pulling out another knife as I jumped, and stabbed the man fiercely in the chest.

It was a sloppy kill. Definitely not my best work.

Afterwards, Altaïr and I both jumped from the roof to join Rauf. When we got back to the Bureau, we got quite a scolding. Meanwhile, I was in turmoil; I was pleased that I had just done what we were trained to do, but I had just killed a man. I found myself weighing the pros and the cons of taking that guard's life. Yes, he was attacking us, but he was just doing his job. I found myself wondering if he had had a family, or children. It made me think about what would happen to Kadar if I died out on a mission.

I got over it eventually, obviously.

My first official assassination mission was when I was about nineteen, and it was in Damascus. My target was a man named Abd Al-Karim, who was kidnapping women and trafficking them. On your first assassination mission, you are to do everything on your own (finding the bureau, collecting the information, though a higher ranking member of the order is following you to make sure that you're doing everything correctly.

I cornered him in his office where he was filing another order of women. His kill was much neater than that of the guard. He didn't even see me as I snuck up behind him and thrust my hidden blade into his neck.

My kill was satisfactory enough to be raise from novice level, which I was pleased about, though I was still sort of irritated that Altaïr had done his about a year before. On the other hand, I was pleased that I had finally been raised for, Novice level, so that I could compete with Altaïr properly again.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	6. Amputation

Dear Master Malik,

Hi! I am just a Novice, but I have heard stories of you and the Mentor (the new Mentor, Master Altair.) I have also heard takes of how you lost your arm. And so I was wondering if you actually remember your amputation, and if Master Altair came to visit you while you were recovering. Sorry to be so blunt! ^_^;

Safety and peace, Novice.

My editor told me that I could expect a lot of questions pertaining to my arm, so I am not offended. In fact, a part of me is glad to get this out of the way quickly.

No, I am grateful to say that I do not remember the amputation of my arm, though the surgeons at Masyaf informed me that that was normal, as my mind would want to block out "traumatizing memories," as they had put it. The last thing I remember previous was slumping against the of the bookshelves in Al Mualim's office after telling him everything that happened in Solomon's Temple.

The next thing I knew is I was waking up in the infirmary, delirious and in _pain._ I remember, very vividly, the sent of burning flesh... _my _burning flesh, from where they had cauterized the stump of my arm, though I didn't know it at the time.

I had reached over somewhat subconsciously towards my wounded arm, a gesture I had done a multitude of times over the last few days, only to have my fingers groping at air. In horror, I turned towards my left shoulder to find my fingers scrabbling at slightly soiled bandages at the end of a stump where my left arm should have been.

I remember screaming, and leaning over the side of the cot to vomit before cursing someone, vowing vengeance and promising to murder him, though I was in too much shock and pain to remember their name. After that, my memories are hazy, as I came down with a fever.

Once the fever broke my memories became sharper. I remember watching one of the doctors changing my bandages while informing me that, during the amputation itself, he was willing to bet my screams managed to reach all the way back to Jerusalem. I remember one of the older doctors warning me against phantom pain and phantom limb (yes, there is a difference.) I remember my disappointment each morning when I awoke to find that I had not died in my sleep.

The worst, however, was when Al Mualim promoted me to Dai, and that I was to be the Bureau Leader of Jerusalem. I begged that he send me anywhere else, as I didn't want to be anywhere near that city again, where Kadar's life ended and my own should have, but the Mentor was steadfast.

And there was, of course, the matter of my demotion. I had known that I could no longer be an assassin when I had awoken to find my arm missing, and that I would likely be shunted off to the side into the ranks of the scholars, but Al Mualim informing me of this fact took away my ability to lay in my cot, staring at the ceiling, and pretend that everything was going to be okay, though I already knew deep in my gut that nothing was going to be okay for a very long time, if ever again. Al Mualim's visit was inevitable, but it solidified the fact that nothing would ever be the same again.

As for Altaïr, no, he never visited me during my recovery, not that I would have allowed him to do so if he did. I can only guess that, if he had tried to do so, I would have tried to kill him, and consequently would have killed myself from the strain. For the longest time I could barely stand, and even then I had to brace myself against the wall for support.

Judging by Altaïr's face when he came to my bureau for the first time when he saw my empty left sleeve, that no one told him. After he became Mentor, when I asked him about this, he confessed easily enough that he had assumed that I died of my wounds, after returning to Masyaf. He said quickly that he had hoped that wasn't true, but he had been too prideful to ask anyone otherwise.

Actually, the only person to visit me (other than Al Mualim) was Rauf. It was actually he that informed me that Altaïr was alive, provoking me out of my shock-induced muteness. I, myself, had assumed that Altaïr had been executed for breaking the creed, as that was the punishment for breaking even one of the tenets, let alone all three.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	7. Love and War

Master Malik,

I am but a novice, and I was wondering how it feel's to take one's life how did you feel? And my other question is were you ever able to find love after you became Dai or returning to Masyaf?

Peace and safety,

NightStorm

Safety and peace, NightStorm.

I cannot exactly explain what it is like to take a life, but I do know that there is no experience like it.

The different weapons provide different experiences as well. Hidden blades have always made the murder of your target more personal. You are very close to your target, more often than not you are holding them, and you can easily feel your target's pulse become irregular and slowly fade as the life ebbs out of them.

Throwing knives are almost the opposite. With throwing knives you don't have to feel the life you are taking slip a way. These are much better if you are, for example, on a rooftop near your target, and you don't want to give away your position, or if your target is surrounded is surrounded by guards. It's also good for when you can't get close to your target, but you have a clear shot.

Swords are usually last resort. You usually use your sword if you are actively engaged in combat with someone, as swords aren't the stealthiest weapons assassins have access to. However, you will find that, if it comes down to it, they kill at least as well as your hidden blade and your throwing knives.

As for love, it has never been a real priority for me. In my youth, I tried both men and women, but I fail to see the appeal. Those who appear attractive to me are more from an artist's stand point, rather than a sexual or romantic one.

I also do not tend to think of myself as exceptionally desirable, either. I am, as Altaïr puts it, "bad tempered" when he is feeling particularly kind, which is a claim that I do not deny. Also, even if a second party would be at least curious, my missing arm is a silent taboo that kills all interest immediately.

Altaïr has told me that I should try to find love, and have a family, but my verbal disinterest fails to penetrate his thick skull whenever he broaches the subject.

I do not mind being alone; I have not had a real family in many years, so I am used to it.

Though I will admit that Darim and Sef, Altaïr's children, call me "Uncle Malik" with some regularity, despite the fact that we are of no blood relation. I suspect that their father puts them up to it, though on the few occasions I confronted him about this, he denied it on all accounts. Darim and Sef continue, despite my reminding them that we are not related. I find it sweet, yet sad at the same time.

I suppose that this could count as love, even if it is not the kind that you were thinking of.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	8. Women and Jerusalem

((Author's note: I haven't really done this "story" for a while, but I got a couple of more asks relatively recently, so I decided to do them together. If I get more, I probably will do them time provided (I just graduated in June and I've been doing camps the last several weeks). If people are still interested in this, I see no reason why I should not indulge them. Thank you for reading!))

Hey Malik, can I ask you two things?

1) Are women now allowed into the order and if so, how are they doing.  
2) Have you ever thought of setting up a relationship with a woman, I mean, it must get kinda lonely at the bureau with nothing much but paperwork.

Safety and Peace Brother  
Cyber Searcher (Yes, that is my legit name)

Safety and peace, Cyber Searcher.

Very few women are in the order. If one were to visit the gardens in Masyaf, you would be able to see them. In my youth, these women were healers, although they did not attempt to heal physical ailments; we have doctors and surgeons for that. No, these women "heal" mental wounds.

There are some in the Brotherhood who sometimes have difficulties overcoming the mental tolls it takes to end someone's life. These members of the Brotherhood would then go to the gardens to speak to the women, who would, in turn, attempt to sooth the minds of the assassin. To remind them that the lives they are taking are for the greater good and that by killing those people they are likely saving the lives of many more.

On the other hand, Altaïr is weighing the possibilities of allowing female members officially into the order. Maria herself has been an assassin for years now, although she does not have an official title; personally, I am confident that the reason why Altaïr is thinking about adding female assassins to the order is mostly _because_ of his wife. She's been dropping hints about the idea for months now, although I would like to say that most of them have failed to penetrate his thick skull. Altaïr finally seemed to "get it" when I very blatantly told Altaïr what Maria had been saying.

There are many in the order who are too old fashioned and are against the idea of having women in the order, but we are slowly getting most of them to come around. Abbas, however, is steadfast in his disagreement in the idea, but I think that that is mostly because he wants to oppose Altaïr on everything (or so it seems to me).

I think that having women in the Brotherhood would be a brilliant idea, as they can easily get into spaces that men would find it difficult if not impossible to get into. I also know that women can be proficient fighters, if Maria is any indication of that. I have also seen some of the women practicing in private when they thought that no one was watching, and a couple of them are actually decent. With real training, they could be fantastic.

As for your second question, yes, the bureau _did_ get lonely a lot of the time. However, I believe that I answered a part of this in the previous question asked. While I would not mind finding love some day, it is not a realistic prospect for me. I am getting older, I am crippled, and I do not particularly think of myself as a very sweet-tempered person. Not to mention that I am not especially interested in the more "physical" aspects of love and marriage.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

Hey Malik, I was always curious about whether you took cartography in your assassin days, or whether you mastered this art after you became a Dai. Do you still enjoy being a map maker? Did they give you this job because they needed a man with such skills in Jerusalem, or did you volunteer yourself? Also, does being an assassin helps out making a map (for example, could you climb onto a minaret and draw a city from bird eye view)?  
Thank you in advance, and please excuse me if my questions may seem insensitive.

-Arsaja

Safety and peace, Arsaja.

Do not worry; your questions are perfectly fine.

To be honest, I was never really _too_ interested in cartography before I had become the Dai of Jerusalem. As children, we have various lessons that we were taught, one of which was cartography and how to read and study maps. I was good at it, but it never really grabbed me as a permanent interest.

Do not get me wrong, I _love_ to draw. When I have a spare moment (which are few and far in between) I will find myself drawing. People, landscapes, objects, whatever comes to mind. At the moment I have a small drawer that I keep these drawings in; I am pretty sure that Altaïr does not know that these drawings exist, which is fine by me.

Before I found that I was to be demoted to Dai, I knew that I was not going to be an assassin any longer; there was simply no way that someone with one arm could continue to be in the field. When I spoke to the Mentor, he asked me if there was any skills that I could teach to some of the younger assassins, as each of the bureau leaders has something to teach. Rafik, in Damascus, teaches pottery and Jabal, in Acre, teaches his students how to be a scribe.

As for why I was sent to Jerusalem, the previous bureau leader was an old man. Baqir had often been complaining of late how he would have liked to retire back to Masyaf with his wife and children and grandchildren (I know that his son was an assassin stationed in Masyaf, but his daughter had three children of her own back in our village. His wife lived with him in the bureau). Baqir said that Al Mualim kept stalling, insisting that there was no one to take over the bureau for him and that he needed all of the scholars and Dai in Masyaf. However, the old man eventually took pity on the rafiq and sent me to take his place.

I was not very happy about my placement, however. Jerusalem is almost constantly under siege from the crusaders, and the people there are not very kind to people like me, that is, cripples. I am very happy to be back home in Masyaf, now.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	9. Altaïr and Friendship

((Author's note; there will be sensitive topics discussed in this chapter such as homosexuality and sex. While there won't be any real description, it is going to be talked about. You have been warned.))

Dear Mr Al-Sayf (may I call you Malik?),  
So I read one of your previous letters about how, for a time, you searched for love. You mentioned that you courted both men and women, but surely homosexuality is frowned upon in the 12th century? Did anyone find out about your exploits and if so, what happened? I'd imagine that if Al Mualim had discovered your secret, his blade arm would not have been hesitant.

I'm sorry if my questions make you uncomfortable, please do not feel pressured or forced by any means to answer them unless you feel comfortable in doing so.

Also, a final question, if I may; we all know by now off the evens that unfolded beneath Solomon's Temple, tragic though they were. But I have to ask, did you hate or at least dislike Altaïr before Solomon's Temple? And if so, why?

Thank you for taking the time to consider my questions and I hope to hear a reply from you soon.

Yours faithfully,  
Vitacazzo

Safety and peace, Vitacazzo,

Yes, homosexuality is rather frowned upon by many. In fact, if any were to find out about one's "homosexual desires" the person and their lover would be stoned to death almost without question, which is a rather painful and unfortunately common form of execution. I have known it to be possible that if a family of wealth or influence even _suspects_ someone of their family to be in love with someone of the same gender they are disowned and wiped from the family tree.

That being said, there was a young man in me and Altaïr's training group whom I was somewhat close to; I will not name him here, lest his honor be besmirched. However, I eventually found out that this friend of mine was romantically interested in a young man around our age in Acre. When I told my mother about this (once again being as vague as possible) and my mother explained to me that that is simply the way that some people are.

You must understand that this was a very radical and outlandish mindset to have. I would not have mentioned it to her if I had known, but I was young and I did not really understand.

A few years later, when my fellow students were beginning to express an interest in sex, I waited for my own interest in such things to develop, but it never did. For a while, I assumed that I was a late bloomer, until I reached my late teens in which I began to think that I was somehow defective for not have any concern with sex.

To see if I might be more interested in it if I actually tried it, I did it with a woman in Jerusalem. It was a one night stand, really, and while it was pleasurable enough it didn't spark a permanent interest in sex.

A few months later, I mentioned my thoughts and worries to my friend and he asked me if I was interested in men. Long story short, he set me up with one of his friends and it did not make me particularly interested in sex.

My friend, however, is now married to a woman whom I'm confident also prefers the same gender. The two of them got married as a cover and, as far as I know, they're both still seeing their sexual partners. However, I don't know for certain; after all, it is not really any of my business.

As for your second question, yes, Altaïr and I have known each other for a very long time. Our fathers, both of whom were Master Assassins, knew each other and thus we were friends when we were young children.

All through our training, we had a sort of rivalry. We were constantly competing each other, each racing to raise in rank and become Master Assassin first. However, when we reached our twenties, Altaïr rescued our Mentor, Rashid Ad-Sinan, from a traitor to the Brotherhood. He was raised to the rank of Master Assassin, skipping _several_ ranks and he began to go on private missions a long ways from here. Every now and then we would still practice together, but the private missions that he had been sent on made him (in my opinion) think that he was too important to speak to the likes of me.

Altaïr had also become very... angry. Upset. I heard rumors that he had been involved with a woman named Adha, but I didn't know what had happened or why, nor could I exactly ask Altaïr either, as his personality had seemed to have changed so much.

When we went into Solomon's Temple, a small part of me had hoped that Altaïr would be able to get over whatever he was going through and things could go back to the way they had been before. However, after the loss of Kadar, I didn't think that there was any way that I would be able to even _see_ Altaïr any more without hate and fury clouding my thoughts.

I am fortunate to have been wrong, however.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

((Author's note #2: I don't know why, but I just headcanon Malik as asexual. Maybe it's because he isn't really shown as having an interest in a relationship in canon until Tazim shows up, but I couldn't tell you.))


	10. Relationships and Childhoods in Masyaf

Safety and piece Malik,  
I'm Vitacazzo's younger sister, she showed me this "ask Malik" thing and after you answered her, I had to ask you a question myself. How did you become an assassin? And what was your early life like?

Yours,  
Emma

Safety and peace, Emma.

It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance and I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

What did you want to know in particular about my "early life," as you put it? I haven't the time to give you a complete and total recount on my life up until this point. If you would like this answered, I would request that you be more specific on what you want to know precisely.

As for how I became an assassin, that is a much easier question to answer. The short answer is is that I was born into it, as was just about almost everyone in Masyaf; my father, Altaïr's father, Altaïr himself, Abbas, and Rauf, to just name a few. We were all born in Masyaf, and we were all male, so thus we became assassins.

When an assassin finds a woman that he wishes to marry, no matter what city she is from, the assassin must bring her back to Masyaf. My father was actually born in Masyaf, as Kadar and I were, but my mother was from Jerusalem.

Of course, the assassin cannot just kidnap the poor woman; she and her father have to agree to the marriage and for her to live in Masyaf. It is an assassin's job to protect the innocent, and that includes not kidnapping her. But I digress.

Once the two are married, the man continues to mainly live up in the fortress while his wife lives in the village. While she lives in the village, she may open some sort of shop to help support herself and her husband. I know a few women who work as weavers or bakers. If she is incapable of starting her own business, she may attempt to find work at one of the other places. Every now and then, however, when the assassin finds that he may have some time away from the fortress, he may visit his wife, so it is not like she is completely on her own.

If the two of them have a daughter, she will mainly work with her mother in the village if at all possible. Once she reaches age ten, however, she would be presented to the women in the garden and tested to see if she has the aptitude and the compassion to be a healer. If she does, then she will be taken in and apprenticed to one of the older women. If she does not, she is sent back down into the village and will continue to work with her mother.

If the two of them have a son, he is taken up to the fortress when he is six and he will be educated; he will be taught things such as the politics and history of our land, other languages, how to read, and how to write. When he reaches the age of ten, he is tested to see if he would make a decent assassin or if he would be better suited for the ranks of the scholars. Either way, he now has a permanent place within the fortress.

That was how I began my training as an assassin. We were sorted into different groups with boys around our same age; mine consisted of Altaïr (of course), Abbas, Rauf, and a couple of others; our teacher's name was Labib. In these classes we would practice combat of all kinds, such as throwing knives, our own fists, fighting daggers, archery, and sword play, although I was always best at the latter kind of fighting.

Once you reached your late teens to early twenties, or when the masters deemed you ready, you would be sent away on a trial where you would be expected to find all of the information on your target and assassinate them on your own. If you succeeded then you would become an assassin. If you failed, but you were still alive, you would be reevaluated and perhaps you would become a scholar anyways. If you still showed the aptitude to become an assassin, then you would go back to training.

I, of course, passed mine and I rose in rank steadily from there.

I hope that I have answered your question adequately.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	11. The Girl

Hey Malik, it's me again :)

You know, I just re-read all your letters so far (also a note to the author - I have never seen a QaA fic that was so in depth and historically accurate - keep up the good work!) and, your answers left me the impression that your life is a bit... well... Gloomy.  
Could you ease the mood and tell us some funny stories from your life? Some "assassination accidents", prank wars, random shenanigans, etc?

Your loyal fan, Arsaja

Safety and peace, Arsaja,

Yes, I suppose that any moments in my life that one may consider humorous are few and far in between. My life may often seem "gloomy" to some, perhaps, but maybe I am used to it. It is, after all, the only life that I have ever known.

However, if you wish to hear a more light-hearted experience from my youth, I am happy to oblige.

The first thing that I can think of off the top of my head is when Altaïr and I were fourteen. We were, of course, still novices and had the robes of gray to prove it. As one may expect, it was around this time that many of our fellow students began to take an interest in the fairer sex; Altaïr was no exception. (I, myself, thought of myself as simply a late bloomer at that point).

There was this one girl from the gardens whom Altaïr had taken a fancy to. She was beautiful enough, I suppose; she had a long, glossy sheet of black hair and cinnamon colored eyes. Once again, I shall omit her name to save her possible embarrassment.

Altaïr and I had first met her when we saw that the gates to the gardens had been left open. We had had some time in between lessons so we had snuck in, hoping to catch a glimpse of the inside. Well, it was mostly Altaïr's idea and he had dragged me along. I usually tried to avoid breaking the rules, unless it came to getting into fights with Altaïr, because novices weren't allowed inside of the gardens.

We snuck inside and only _just _managed to catch a glimpse of the fountain and the pool towards the center of the gardens when a voice demanded, "Just _what _are you two doing!?"

The two of us whipped around guiltily to find a girl around our age, although perhaps a little bit older; maybe she was around fifteen or sixteen. The girl was glaring at us with her arms crossed over her chest, wearing the standard clothing of a woman of the gardens.

Altaïr stood next to me, his mouth open and moving silently as if he was trying to figure out how to speak. I glared at him for a moment before I turned to the girl and said smoothly, "It was just a mistake. We will be on our way now."

The girl kept her gaze on me for a moment before she relented and sighed, "Fine, just get out of here!"

I nodded and grabbed Altaïr's arm, dragging him out of the gardens, berating him for his stupid idea. What was he _thinking_ breaking into the gardens and dragging _me _along with him? He was lucky that I _was _there to rescue him. Altaïr, however, had remained silent the whole time, which was unusual because he would often argue back with me.

Over the next couple of days, Altaïr would ask me periodic questions about women and what I thought it would be like to be in love and to be in a relationship with a girl. I answered honestly, mostly saying that I did not know (something that was very difficult for me to do at the time) or answering disinterestedly and without conviction.

In addition to this, I began to see the girl from the gardens around Masyaf a lot more. Walking through the halls, passing by the training ring in the courtyard, and even seeing her on the pathway to the citadel as she headed down to the village and I headed back up towards the fortress. Many of the times where I saw her, Altaïr was with me and he would _always _get tongue-tied.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening; I quickly came to the conclusion that the two of them genuinely liked each other. And, as one of Altaïr's only friends, I figured that I should at least _try_ to set them up together. At the very least it would be amusing to try, or to at the very least watch the two of them and how awkward they were undoubtedly going to be.

The next time I saw the girl I decided to talk to her. Looking back on it now, I realize that the girl was acting very shy. I asked her if she would meet me by the front gate in an hour or so, and she agreed.

After I spoke to her, I confronted Altaïr, told him that I knew about his interest in the girl, and told him to go to the front gate. Altaïr ran down immediately, as we did not have any lessons at that point during the day, and the two of us waited for her until she showed up.

I stood a few yards away, my arms crossed over my chest, observing Altaïr trying to talk to the girl. The girl herself, frankly, still looked nervous and shy, although on top of that, she looked mildly disappointed. Her eyes kept flicking over towards me and slowly I started to realize what was _really _ happening.

The girl was interested in _me_, not Altaïr!

The idea was too much for me and I burst out laughing. Altaïr's attempts at flirting slowly stuttered to a halt and the both of them stared at me. I tried to get myself under control, but it was all just so _hilarious._ Altaïr looked angry and the girl looked completely embarrassed, the former of the two clearly not understanding what I had figured out, although neither of them looked like they understood why I was laughing so hard.

I moved closer to the two of them, apologized to the girl and wished Altaïr good luck before heading back up to the fortress, leaving the two of them to their own devices.

Both of their crushes were over within two months, but that still didn't stop me from teasing Altaïr about it for the rest of the year.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	12. Languages

Hello Dai Malik!

I was hoping that you could tell me what sorts of things you studied as a novice other than combat. How often do these things come up while on missions?

* * *

Safety and peace,

One of the most important things we learned as novices was different languages. During this time period, and especially the region in which I live, Islam is the most prevalent religions. The scholars in Masyaf call it the Dar Al-Islam. If you wanted to "fit in" so to speak in this area you either had to be a Muslim, or speak certain languages. Ideally, you would do both, but that is not always a possibility.

Arabic was one of the most important ones to know and is practically a requirement if you want to be able to trade with people from the northern coast of Africa all the way to India and, in some places, China. According to my editor, knowledge of Arabic for trade in my time is similar to how many people around the world know English for business in your's. However, for many of the assassins, including Altaïr and myself, Arabic is our native language so we did not have to spend too much time studying and learning it (other than reviewing literature).

After Arabic, we studied several other languages. Persian was another important language to learn and our instructors were much more insistent upon us learning it than some of the other languages. It is also very important for trade, although it is used further north, like closer to Constantinople.

The other languages we were made to learn were Greek, English, French, and Turkish, although these were not of as high a priority as the former two. Really, the Dais and Rafiqs that were teaching us just insistent that we learn enough to interrogate targets if necessary. I went out of my way to know as much of these languages as possible; I would like to note that I am nowhere near fluent in any of the four and my knowledge of Greek has faded more than I would care to admit. I also have a very limited knowledge of Italian and Latin.

I have found that learning these languages were extremely helpful when going out on missions, as much of our information gathering (when necessary) involves eavesdropping or pickpocketing notes that may be in other languages.

Other than language, we were taught basic necessities, such as the history of our Brotherhood, the history of the land (especially the recent history with the holy wars, and the involvement of Emperor Alexios I and Pope Urban II). We also learn how to read and write, both essential skills that are uncommon within the general populous of the holy land. On top of that, there is also the matter of learning how to read maps, recognizing landmarks and roads especially.

There are a few other minor skills that we learn, too, but I do not think that you wish to hear about those.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

* * *

Author's Note: Hey, so I was kind of surprised to get a stray question for this. Not that I'm upset by this; in fact, I think it's great that people are enjoying this. Keep the questions coming! :)

I would also like to take the time here to thank everyone who is taking the time to not only ask questions, but provide feedback as well. It really makes me happy to see that people are enjoying the things that I write, and I am glad to see that Malik is not acting out of character and that my writing here is historically accurate.

Speaking of which, this letter is FULL of history. Arabic and Persian were the primary languages spoken during this time period, and Islam was arguably the most powerful religion. It was true what Malik said; if you want to be able to connect and/or communicate with people wherever you went you had to either speak these languages or be a Muslim, or both (research Ibn Battuta).

Also, the First Crusade was started when Emperor Alexios I of Constantinople sent a letter to Pope Urban II requesting forces to help them be rid of the Turks. However, the Pope had the authority to start a holy war, so that was exactly what he did. Not only would they help save Constantinople, but they would also "save" Jerusalem from the "Muslim heretics" who had been living there for generations.

Enjoy the free history lesson from a (hopefully) future history teacher. :)


	13. Altaïr and Jealousy

Question for Malik: Most people have some personal drawback they have to overcome to be a better person. Altair's was his arrogance. Did you ever have a trait like this?

* * *

Safety and peace,

It is impossible, in my opinion, for someone to not be flawed in some way or have a "personal drawback" as you say. We are human beings and as such are foible by nature, and I am no exception to this.

When I was younger, I was… very competitive. The entire scope of my existence seemed to narrowed down to a sort of one-upmanship with Altaïr. We were rivals. We each saw the other as our only "real" competition within our age group. Looking back now, the two of us were sort of friends, for all that we both would have denied it at length back then.

Ever since the two of us were Novices, we were competing with each other of who would be able to become a full member of the order first and then once we were both assassins, who could become a Master Assassin first. Altaïr beat me on both accounts.

Because of this, I am ashamed to say that I got very jealous. I was angry because I thought that we were equals in skill. I beat Altaïr in combat just as many times as he managed to beat me, if not more. However, Altaïr was the favorite of the Mentor and I was not, so he advanced more than I did. This made me very envious and resentful.

When Altaïr became a Master Assassin, it was because he had saved the Mentor's life; the Templars invaded Masyaf and managed to take Al Mualim prisoner because of a double agent by the name of Haras. Altaïr (ignoring my suggestion that if he were able to save the Mentor he should be patient and come up with a plan) managed to get into Masyaf and save Al Mualim's life. He was rewarded well for it; he became the youngest Master Assassin in the history of the Brotherhood at age twenty-four, skipping _several_ ranks.

I was furious. I did not think it fair that Altaïr was rewarded so for disregarding protocol; he did not come up with a plan and he was not at all patient in waiting for the correct moment to strike, based upon what I heard of the rescue. I had worked hard to get where I was and Altaïr was raised above me in rank even further with very little effort. It did not help that he was sent on special, secret missions fitting his new role as a Master so that I didn't get to speak to him as often as I would have liked (although, must it be said, that it would not have likely been very long for both of us found our tempers short with the other during this period in our lives).

When I did get to see Altaïr, he seemed to go out of his way to point out how I was at a lower rank than he was and lorded it over me. He also made it very clear to me that he did not feel the same way as I in terms of our match in skill. Altaïr seemed to take great pleasure in antagonizing me about these facts.

Now, I am embarrassed about how I acted when I was young. I was foolish, going out of my way to argue with Altaïr when it was not necessary, and I was very hot headed. Not to say that I am not now, but I was more so then and I have been working to keep my temper under control as much as possible (Altaïr still finds ways to get under my skin and I have wanted to fight Abbas for years now).

Still, I try to make light of my past behavior, and try to think of a light side to this; I believe that if you are ashamed of who you were and how you behaved in the past, it shows that you have grown as a person. I certainly hope that I have.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	14. Faheem, Junah, and Kadar

Hello, again, Malik!

I'm sorry if I'm digging into a sensitive territory, but could you tell us more about your family? And I'm not talking just about Kadar (may he have peace), I'm talking about your mother, father, perhaps other siblings, cousins, uncles, etc. That sort.

Respectfully, Arsaja

* * *

Safety and peace, Arsaja.

I am perfectly happy to answer any questions you may have about my family; you do not need to worry about "sensitive territory" as you say.

I will start with my father. His name was Faheem and as far as I know he had been born in Masyaf, living there his entire life. I do not know much of who he was as a person, other than what my mother told me when she was alive, but I know that he was a Master Assassin. My mother said that he was very smart, kind (when he wanted to be), and somewhat witty. I remember from when I was very little being fascinated with the texture of his hands. They were big, calloused, and scarred. I was always curious at how they got to be that way, especially since I was young and my hands were not as worn as mine is now.

Unfortunately, I did not get to know him very well. He was often out on missions, as was his duty, but I still wish that he had been around more. As an assassin he lived in the fortress itself, so really it was just our mother, Kadar, and I living in our little house in the village. Rashid ad-Din Sinan, the previous Mentor, believed that familial attachments would weaken someone when one of them inevitably died.

This has changed under Altaïr's leadership. I remember Altaïr's exact words to me a couple of hours after Darim was born. I had found him in the hallway, holding the burbling baby in his arms while the midwives were tending to Maria.

"Al Mualim always said that caring for your family made you weak… but when I hold my son in my arms… I don't know how he can give me anything but strength."

I apologize. I find myself deviating from the question asked.

My mother was from Jerusalem, and her name was Junah Bint-Karim. Based upon what she told me, she was the only child of a merchant and married late at the age of seventeen because (as she said) her father treasured her and was very reluctant to marry her off. I am aware that in your time, getting married at seventeen is very unusual, but I would like to say that most people (especially women) are married off when they are in their early teens. The youngest I've heard of someone getting married was age eight. It was extremely unusual for Altaïr to have gotten married when he did. In any case, I was born when my mother was eighteen.

I have no idea if my grandfather is still living in Jerusalem. He is probably dead, though. I also don't know enough about him (or even his name) so I couldn't look him up even if I still lived in Jerusalem.

I would like to think that I took after my mother, but Kadar looked more like her than I did, given how he inherited her wavy hair and blue eyes. My mother would say that I looked more like my father; especially my eyes, she said.

She was very sarcastic, I remember. She had a wonderful sense of humor. She also got a very stern look on her face whenever she found Kadar and I bickering. I suppose, then, in a way, that I did take after her somewhat.

Both of them died when I was thirteen years old. My mother had gotten ill; my father attempted to spend every minute possible with her, even though she insisted that her sickness was not very bad. Of course, inevitably, he was summoned away for a mission, this time in Tyre, and left with great reluctance.

He died. No one would really tell Kadar or I what happened, nor would they let us see his body before he was buried.

My mother's illness got worse after that. She seemed to have given up on life completely, now that the man she loved was dead, and would not do anything save for laying down in her bed and staring at the ceiling, leaving me to do things around the house like make dinner, clean, and be sure that Kadar was getting to his lessons on time. When she died, Kadar and I were moved up to an empty room in the citadel itself that we shared for many years.

Switching to a somewhat lighter topic; Kadar. He was very eager. And trusting. He was… he thought that everything about our home and our culture as assassins was very fascinating, especially the history and politics of the Brotherhood. When he was younger, I remember that he was very much a pacifist, and would always try to break up the arguments that Altaïr and I had. When he started his training, however, he would be really excited to get into battle.

We fought, of course, as all siblings do, but we were close. After all, I had been raising him for half of my life and most of his when he died.

There is no one else in my family that I know of, so I hope that this has answered your question adequately.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	15. New Problems

Hello! My name is Alexander and I just have a couple questions if you don't mind answering them. I was wondering what the sorts of things it took you a while to get used to about your missing left arm. Also, in one of your previous letters, you said that Altair did not know about the amputation. How did he react when he did find out? Was he upset?

Peace and Safety! :D

* * *

Safety and peace, Alexander.

As I stated before, my editor told me that I could probably expect a lot of questions about my arm and it is only natural that you are curious.

It certainly took time to get used to. Even now, nine years after the incident at Solomon's Temple, I still find myself occasionally trying to use an arm that isn't there anymore (trying to reach for things, flatten whatever paper I happen to be looking at, or attempt to scratch an itch; things of that ilk). I think that the first several months were the worst, however.

There are things that you do with both arms that you don't realize, even with your nondominant hand (although I was more inclined to use my left. That was one thing I had to learn how to do; write legibly with my right hand). Actions that I did without a second thought were now torturously difficult. I had to think of every action ahead of time, planning them out.

One thing I had to do was remember to put down whatever I was holding before I tried to open a door. It may seem minor to someone else, but it really helped solidify in my mind just how much my situation changed. As I am sure that you can imagine, it was very frustrating within the first few weeks following the amputation.

I also found that I now have to use a paper weight to keep my papers in place. In fact, more than once while I was in the bureau, I was attempting to brush some dust or charcoal off of some reports or a map I was working on and sent the papers off of my desk and onto the floor. It was very irritating, to say the least. Eventually I got a little stone goat to weigh my papers down (an object that has been long since broken, as Darim tried to play with it). Now I mainly just use whatever I have on hand.

The phantom pain was something that it took me awhile to get used to. The first time I felt it I was very… worried. I thought that I was going insane and I was afraid to mention it to the medics. Luckily, one of the surgeons mentioned it to me first; I felt incredibly relieved, despite the fact that he told me that I would likely experience it for the rest of my life. I still do, every now and then, but it is not as common as when the loss was fresh and usually occurs when the weather is poor. I try to stay away from Altaïr when this happens because he can always tell that it's bothering me and seeing the guilt on his face makes me want to hurt him.

When the wound was fresh, physical balance was difficult for me. The amputation had thrown off my equilibrium in a way that it took my mind a long time to deal with and I had to brace against the wall often. I often overcorrected myself to make up for that; this made for weaving steps and standing up from the floor an ordeal. I was constantly awash with anger at my own incompetence.

Another problem I often experienced was getting in and out of the bureau. It is impossible for me to climb in and out of the Bureau's roof entrance; it's too high up for me to reach in a simple wall run (not that I would likely have the strength to pull myself up with one arm even if I could reach the top on one try). Unfortunately, I now lack the strength and dexterity to climb properly. I had to make a habit of using the ground entrance, which was primarily used by assassins before climbing became normal within the Brotherhood, although I did use the roof entrance to reenter the bureau whenever possible where I could simply drop to a roll.

I think that the worst thing I had to reconcile about the loss of my arm was the fact that I would never be able to be an assassin again. Take a moment to imagine that you have been trained to do something your entire life. Much of your immediate family has done this and you are proud that you are capable of doing the same. You are good at it and you improve greatly over time. You are just _barely_ short of reaching a goal that you have had ever since you were a child. Then imagine that you are told that you can never do it again.

It was… crushing, for lack of a better word.

As for how Altaïr reacted, well, I had known him long enough that I knew he thought that displaying emotion was a sign of weakness; he carried this mindset for at least a decade, although I am grateful to say that he is more free with his thoughts and emotions nowadays.

Anyways, when Altaïr first arrived in the Jerusalem bureau after I had been made Dai and he saw my empty sleeve, his face was, of course, a perfect blank. His hood was tilted at an angle where I could easily see the emotion in his eyes; horror. Fury. Disgust. There was even a trace of pity. On top of that, he was _staring_.

I hated him for it (not just for his role in the disaster of our last mission together, but also now for the pity he had directed my way) and I, of course, lost my temper _very_ quickly.

I hope that this answered your question adequately.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

* * *

Speaking as someone who actually does parkour, there is absolutely no way that Malik would have been able to climb out of the bureau. Sorry, dude.

Also; WOW, this has really exploded the last couple of days! Thank you! I am still working on "Life Goes On" but while I am still getting responses to this, I'm going to be trying to respond as soon as possible because I (first of all) don't want to forget to reply to someone and I've also been in a very "I want to write about Malik" mood lately. I hope you can forgive me.


	16. Assassins vs Templars

Hello Malik

What do you really think about the world, the assassins and templars ? Are They both right or wrong?

* * *

Safety and peace.

You pose an interesting question and, as with most philosophical questions, there is no easy answer. It is difficult for me to give an unbiased response, given how I was raised. However, I shall share my thoughts with you on this feud, if that is what you desire.

As much as I would like to say that the assassins are perfect and infallible, we are not. The Templars are the same way. Our goals are noble, but our means of achieving them are not always moral or honorable.

The Knights Templars' goal is to achieve peace through order. They believe that if society were structured in the correct way and it is regimented enough, then there will be peace by force; you will follow our rules or you will be put to the sword (the assassins have a similar belief. I do not think that our organizations goals are as different as people seem to think). Only through order can there be peace.

I do not think that this idea is entirely wrong; complete and total anarchy is not the answer. There definitely has to be at least some form of structure within society. The Templars view mankind as morally corrupt, which is why they believe that there can be no peace when there is free will and that their control is needed to even have a chance at worldwide harmony.

On the other hand, I firmly believe that their means of achieving this peace is wrong. Peace by mind control is not right. Robert de Sable (a man who is long dead, but haunts me in my nightmares to this day) wished to have the Apple so that he could rob the innocent people who live in the holy land of their free will. There is also the fact that the Templars are not above killing the aforementioned innocents to achieve their goals too.

The Brotherhood is not without fault either. We, much like the Templars, attempt to achieve peace through homicide (although we primarily kill other serial killers, corrupt politicians, slavers, and other people who endanger the general populous). We also wish to open people's' minds to new ideas, although we do require rules (for example, the Creed; three ordinances that we must _never_ break) and at least some sense of moral restraint and discipline. On top of that, we try to warn about the dangers of blind faith (something that I myself have struggled with) although we practice it ourselves. Altaïr calls these "the three great ironies of the Assassin Order."

I think… that had I not been born into the Assassin Brotherhood, I would have followed their teachings and attempted to join them regardless. Yes, I know that my opinion is biased, but I speak what I believe to be the truth. Unlike the Templars, who condemn humanity as irredeemably weak-minded and corrupt, the Assassins uphold faith, even love, in humanity as a part of its core ideals. Perhaps most critically, social justice appears to be a unifying theme among Assassins, and in this capacity, we serve as a reactionary force against perceived oppression, tyranny, and abuses against humanity, becoming the mortal enemies of the Templars. I also find myself agreeing with the Assassin ideals inclination towards skepticism and liberalism. I will not stand up for injustice of any kind, and nor does the Brotherhood.

I wish that there was some way that we could achieve peace between our two organizations, but in my opinion there has been too much bad blood and too many casualties on both sides for this to end in any way other than the complete and total obliteration of either one of our orders.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	17. Barazek Cookies

Greetings Malik Al-Sayf

I would ask a few questions if you have time. I would like to know what you think of the possibility of there being lands beyond what is known about now. I also would like to ask what your favorite time of the day is and what you like best to eat, if those questions are not to strange.

Eagerly awaiting your reply,

Kuro-Tsuki-san

Collectorofhats

* * *

Safety and peace, Kuro-Tsuki-san.

A decade ago I would have said that different lands would be possible, however unlikely. I think that there are always new things to discover around the world. However, nine years ago after the death of the previous Mentor, the Apple did something very strange; an image of a globe of some sort appeared over it for a few moments before it disappeared. It took me a week or so (all the while Altaïr trying to recall the image) to realize that it was a map (an embarrassingly long time, given how much time I have spent studying cartography over the course of my life; in my defense, though, I had not yet previously seen a representation of the Earth as a sphere).

Now that I realized what it was, I recognized that there were a few landmasses that we previously did not know existed. As much as I think that sending an expedition over to these land masses to explore them, that is not a possibility and we simply lack the funds and the resources to acquire a ship, send people through the Mediterranean Sea, and then across another ocean, making sure that they have enough food and water to ensure their survival and enough silver and gold to make sure that they can bribe people to allow them through restricted water zones. Besides, we don't even know for certain if those land masses still exist.

I had to content myself attempting to draw the images I saw globe on a piece of parchment, but it never comes out correctly. There is something wrong with the coastlines, comparing what I remember of the globe to modern maps of Europe, Asia, and Africa. I can't tell if the seaboards are different because the globe was out of date, or if they're different because time has worn them down (that is, the globe is not what the world looks like _yet_. I suppose anything is possible with that damnable device). In any case, the maps never turn out correctly and I always end up getting frustrated with them. Still, I only saw the image for a few moments and Altaïr has been unable to recall the image, so I've had to make do with what I remember.

I think that sunset is my favorite time of day. If you were to visit Masyaf, I would definitely suggest climbing the tower where we have the novices climb to practice doing leaps of faith. If you sit or stand on one of the ledges around sundown, the sky turns all sorts of different colors (primarily pinks, oranges, and reds). The sun dips below the mountain, casting the village below the citadel in shadow. The view is quite spectacular. Also, if you wait long enough for the sun to go completely down, you can see the stars. If I feel like it, I will name all of the stars and the constellations.

I am fond of many kinds of food. When I want an actual meal, I am fond of lamb; it has a very interesting texture and unique taste. However, if I were to pick my absolute favorite food it would probably be (as silly as it sounds) barazek cookies. They're basically flat round biscuits filled with pistachios, sesame seeds and mahlab. The baker in Masyaf's village sometimes adds honey to them.

In Syria, we don't usually celebrate birthdays, but Kadar would always remember mine (even when I forgot) and he would always get me barazek cookies. I would always do the same for him every year. I still often forget my birthday, but Altaïr tends to remember, so he gets me the cookies now. I've told him that it isn't necessary, but he doesn't listen to me.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

* * *

I meant to have this chapter yesterday, but I had to write a history paper. Apologies.

Also, I thought that since the last couple of chapters seemed to be kind of dark, I tried to make this one a little bit lighter.


	18. Jerusalem, Masyaf, and Blending in

Thank you so much for answering my previous question! I have another one, if you don't mind; what was it like lioving in Jerusalem? Do you like it better or worse than Masyaf?

Safety and peace,

Alexander

Dear Malik,

Hello, I am a novice just starting to learn about the creed and the brotherhood and stuff. As I am sure you know, part of the Creed is blending in with your environment. I just wanted to ask if you have had trouble doing so since the loss of your arm and if there was anything special or different compared to before, when you were a real assassin.

\- a random novice

* * *

Safety and peace,

I hope that neither of you mind if I answer these together as they fit together easily.

For the first part, I certainly prefer Masyaf to Jerusalem; it was where I was born and where I was raised and shall always be the place that I picture when I think of home.

Jerusalem was nice, though, in a certain way. I appreciate it for its history and its culture (the people are different from the civilians who live in Masyaf in a lot of ways), but it is very dangerous. Not only is it being invaded every few years by the Crusaders, but it is also hazardous if you are a part of the Brotherhood or if you are disabled.

Yes, I suppose that I did have trouble blending in when I first began my leadership there, but that was mostly because I had to get used to blending in in a different way than I was used to. As an assassin, I could simply merge in with a group of monks or scholars. Now that I had been made a _Dai_, I was given a set of civilian clothes to help me blend in with the masses, as the dark robes of _Rafiq_ and _Dai_ are unusual, even when you are among civilians.

I was also given a prosthetic, commissioned by Al Mualim and given to me shortly before my departure. I am confident that it's somewhere in here around my meager possessions, but I couldn't tell you exactly where. I avoided wearing it as much as possible because, as odd as it may sound, wearing it felt like… giving up, in a certain way. I only wore it when I absolutely had to, such as when I was visiting the poor district (the poor district is the most dangerous place to be in Jerusalem when you are disabled, so I've learned, because it makes you look like an easy target for getting beaten and robbed) or select informants. I avoided wearing it completely when I knew that Altaïr was going to be in the city, even if that meant getting attacked. There were days where I felt like I had to choose between being safe physically or mentally.

Nevertheless, the combination of the prosthetic and the civilian clothes guaranteed that I would be invisible to anyone except for my informants, for which I was grateful, even if I loathed the damn things. I suppose that this answers the second novice's question.

Being the bureau leader was sort of like being the Mentor of the Brotherhood, although on a much smaller scale. I would draw maps, mainly for other Assassins or Scholars, but every now and then I would be paid by a civilian to make them a map. The extra coin did not hurt either. I would meet with the informants who were a part of the Brotherhood (the ones who were sent by the Mentor to infiltrate various organizations) but I would have to leave the bureau to locate the ones that were not, usually thieves who were willing to share information for a little bit of coin; I would never meet the latter type in the bureau because that had the potential for compromising the Brotherhood. There were also a few assassins permanently stationed within Jerusalem, whom I would send on small missions or errands.

Compared to Masyaf, living in the bureau was very quiet. Lonely, most days, though I was reluctant to admit it. At home, there were always new people coming and going, always the metal clang of swords as children practiced, always the shouts and yelps as assassins practiced their sparring or climbing, always the friendly chatter of friends who just saw each other for the first time after a mission. Jerusalem had none of that. There was, of course, the constant hum of colloquy from the market nearby, but it just wasn't the same. On top of that, I almost always ended up just seeing the same people over and over and over again. I am unbelievably glad and relieved to be home once again for these very reasons.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	19. Christianity and Islam

Dear Rafiq Malik,

You live in a very interesting time period, where the Christian crusaders are attacking the Holy Land, where many Muslims live. I just wanted to ask if you were at all religious and if the holy wars that you have lived through have shaped your view of your religion as a whole.

Best,

Hannah

* * *

Safety and peace, Hannah.

Religion has always been an interesting subject to me. When I was young, I was very curious about who the crusaders are and what their goals and ideals are. I would spend hours in Masyaf's library, seeking to understand. I also ended up doing research on Islam, although I knew much more about that than Christianity, given where I live.

My mother was a devout Muslim. She prayed at least five times a day (mostly for my father's safe return from whatever mission he happened to be at the moment) and always made sure that she was properly modest (that is, she wore her _hijab_). She tried to raise Kadar and I to be religious like she is, but my interest in religion is mainly from a scholarly standpoint. However, I will admit that when I was a child, before I had officially started training a novice in the Brotherhood, I did try to _be_ religious, but it didn't always seem logical to me and my praying and reading of the Holy Quran grew more and more infrequent.

The Brotherhood in of itself is not a religious organization, but I know that many members of the order may have their own religious views. Many people who are more inclined to have religious beliefs in Masyaf, I know, mostly are Muslim, but that does not mean that there are not people of other religions and beliefs in the order too. I know that there are a handful of Sufis in the Brotherhood. There is one or two buddhists and shintoists, too. I know of one Christian, although he keeps his religion secret for fear of prejudice against him because of the crusaders. Lastly, I know for a fact that Altaïr considers himself to be an atheist.

My personal religious views are complex. I would like to believe that there is a higher power out there somewhere, watching over us, but I do not think that whatever this higher power (whatever He, She, or It may be) would not condone the crusades and the violence that is occurring between the Muslims and the Christians. I am well aware of how hypocritical this is, being a former assassin who has taken out more than his fair share of people on both sides of the conflict, but it is simply what I believe. I suppose, then, I lean more towards agnostic points of view, but even that concept seems to waiver for me every now and then, when I do not think that there is anything that created everyone. My religious views fluctuate, but I think that I am primarily agnostic.

I do not mean to sound derogatory towards people who _are_ religious; in fact, it's quite the contrary. I hold high respect for most people who are religious, as I believe that it is a good thing to have something to believe in. The only real times that I take problem with religion is when people try to force people to convert or adhere to their own religion (it is perfectly fine to be proud of your religion, but as soon as you try to force someone to convert or shove your religion down someone else's throat, that is when we start to have a problem), when people use the power of their religion to gain power (an occurrence that is sadly common), or the use of religion as an excuse to punish and persecute innocent people (whether it be Pope Urban II ordering the first crusade, the crusaders themselves raping and pillaging all villages and people between here and Constantinople assuming that they are all Muslims, or attempting to ban an entire religion outright).

To conclude, I would say that the crusades, yes, have probably contributed to the shaping of my attitude towards the concept of religion as a whole, although not in an entirely negative way, as one may expect. They have given me the opportunity to learn more, which is something that I have always valued.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	20. Maria Thorpe

Dear Mr. Al-Sayf,

What do you think about Altair's wife, Maria? Do you get along, even though she used to be a Templar? How did you react whenAltair introduced you to her?

* * *

Safety and peace.

It may or may not surprise you to learn that Maria and I get along rather well. She is clever and certainly has a sense of humor, so I consider the both of us to be friends.

I actually met Maria before Altaïr brought her back with him from Cyprus, just once, when I was still the bureau leader of Jerusalem. Altaïr had been sent there to assassinate the Templar Grand Master, Robert de Sablé. However, Robert was expecting our previous Mentor to send some of his men after him and laid a trap, sending Maria to the funeral of Majd Addin in his stead.

When Altaïr returned to the bureau, he only briefly mentioned to me in passing that a Templar woman before he departed for Arsuf to hunt down and kill his real target. Prior to his departure, though, he bade me try to find information about Al Mualim's relationship to the Templars because he suspected that it went deeper than it seemed to appear on the surface. I obliged, of course, and followed a couple of Templars towards where they were hiding out in the ruins of Solomon's Temple.

It was there that Maria and I met. I had entered the room where I suspected that Robert would have been staying (it was the largest and grandest room adjacent to where the more common soldiers had obviously been sleeping on the floor) to find a woman wearing chainmail writing something down with a quill at the desk. The two of us fought and she, unfortunately for me at the time, managed to escape.

I searched the room and managed to find Robert's personal journal, where he named Rashid ad-Din Sinan as a co-conspirator, but that is a tale for another time.

After around a month following the previous Mentor's death, Altaïr decided that he needed to go to Cyprus to locate the Templar Archive. I had known that it was only a matter of time before he decided to go out again; he is far too restless a person to want to stay in one place for long. Still, though, we had a lot of work to do and it was too early for him to leave in my opinion, not to mention that, intentional or not, Altaïr dropped all of the work of running the Order directly onto my shoulders.

Despite my protests, Altaïr went to Acre's docks to intercept the departing Templars before they made their way to the island; this was where the Master encountered Maria, taking her prisoner.

From there, I tracked their progress through the multitude of letters that Altaïr sent. Despite my annoyance at him, I appreciated the fact that he actually sent _real_ letters where it was obvious that he sat down and took the time to write his thoughts out, once he had finished reporting their movements and progress.

Altaïr gave no hint whatsoever that he was bringing Maria back to Masyaf with him, let alone that they had gotten married. Many of the assassins did not take the news that their Mentor was not only bringing an alleged former Templar to our fortress but that he was also married to her. The worst of the rumors about Altaïr had just died down after Al Mualim's death, too. I will admit that even I had my doubts.

I trusted Altaïr's judgment though. I still do, and if he said that this woman was trustworthy, I believed him. We needed to figure out a way to… properly integrate her into the order and make the others see her as not just a woman and an ex-Templar, but as an actual valuable member of the Order. I thought that the best way to do this would be to have her duel someone in the Brotherhood who was respected enough that if he showed that he trusted Maria enough to practice with, people would change their minds. We also needed someone who wouldn't maim her on purpose and wouldn't take too much pleasure in the possibility of beating her.

Maria and I fought in the largest training ring in the front courtyard of the fortress. It seemed like most of the Brotherhood was watching, but I did not mind. I had to, of course, retrain myself to use not only my right hand in combat but also to block my left side. As expected, Maria tried to strike on my weakest side, but I knew how to protect it.

I ended up beating her, but the plan worked; the novices would talk about nothing else for nearly three months afterward, not to mention that Maria had started to join Rauf with his lessons to show the more petite novices how to use small size to their advantage. While Altaïr and I lead the order, the Master's wife started to learn psychological healing techniques from the women in the gardens. After Altaïr decided to allow women to become assassins, Maria was put in charge of teaching them. Gradually, the suspicion went away, although every now and then a new rumor about her will reach my ears. I surmise that Abbas is the one behind them, but I will not accuse him openly until I am certain.

As for me, Maria and I continued to spar. It was good exercise and made a nice change from the paperwork. At first, we did so almost every day, primarily in the evenings, but when Maria's first pregnancy began to show, or practice slowly ceased. During each of her pregnancies we stopped altogether, but now we do it around once or twice a week, time willing.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

* * *

Note 1: AH! Thank you so much! I absolutely love this letter writing (It's not really a story, is it?), and I am so glad that people are still commenting and asking questions. It really makes me happy. 3

Note 2: I think that Malik and Maria got a long, judging by how the latter defended the former to Altaïr after the two of them and Darim returned from Mongolia. For those of you that have not read "The Secret Crusade," Altaïr, Maria, and their eldest son returned to Masyaf after the assassination of Genghis Khan to find that Sef was dead, Abbas had taken over Masyaf, and Malik was thrown in prison. Abbas told Altaïr and Maria that Malik had murdered Sef two months previously.

Maria was the one that defended Malik to Altaïr when he wondered if Malik had actually killed Sef and that he had never truly forgiven him for the events at Solomon's Temple…

Note 3: I like to imagine that Malik and Maria met in Jerusalem after Altaïr spared her. Logically, after the battle that took place at the cemetery, she would have gone back to where the other knights were staying. Malik said later that the Templars had bunkered down in Solomon's Temple, when he told Altaïr that he found Robert's journal. So… there.


	21. Drunk in Damascus

:Ever got drunk or high? :)

* * *

Safety and peace.

Yes, I have actually gotten drunk before, especially in my youth, but it is not something that I make a habit of as I am not fond of the feeling of being too light headed in such a way, nor the headaches that follow; I much prefer it when I am able to properly think. I will admit that I will have a glass of arak every now and then, or imported wine if it is not too expensive (which, let's be honest, it usually is), when I want something a little bit stronger than tea sent over from China along the silk roads.

Novices, generally, are not allowed to drink. They have too much to do and it would simply be a waste of time if their instructor attempted to teach someone how to fight or climb when they are tipsy or hungover. I've seen people try and it is not a pretty picture. Altaïr and Rauf, namely, are excellent examples of why novices should not get drunk when they have a knife throwing lesson the very next day.

I think that the first time I got drunk was probably… around when I was eighteen. I had just been raised above the rank of novice and decided to celebrate by visiting the pub in the town of Masyaf. I remember that I was trying to read something, though what I do not recall. I kept ordering drinks and it eventually became so that I was unable to read the words on the page. Kadar ended up having to come and retrieve me, a fact that was honestly rather embarrassing for the both of us as he walked me back to the fortress. I had to lean against him heavily for support, which was unfortunate seeing as how he was only thirteen and I was sort of heavy for him.

Over the course of my career as an assassin, I had been injured a lot and the medics in Masyaf would often use alcohol to sedate me, as they often do with their patients, so I've been intoxicated then. However, I suppose that what you want is a story, so I will ignore those instances for now.

The next time I really got drunk was three years later in Damascus, injuries aside. Altaïr and I had been sent on a mission together, something that was not uncommon (Al Mualim often said that we made a good team together, even if we often argued). This was around the time Altaïr started to get egotistic, but it wasn't as unbearable as when he was a Master Assassin.

Anyways, the mission went off without a hitch. We killed our target, retrieved the information that the Mentor wanted us to retrieve, and returned to the bureau. However, the Rafiq was new to his position at the time and was reluctant to let us leave the city too soon, especially since a higher-ranked member of the order had a mission going on at the same time, which put the guards on high alert. Thus, Altaïr and I got restless fast. Eventually getting tired of our "bickering," as the Rafiq put it at the time, he kicked us out of the Bureau for a couple of hours.

Most people of the Muslim faith find intoxicants _haram_ and in many Islamic cities like Damascus it can be difficult to find pubs or taverns that serve alcoholic drinks. If you have enough resources, however, like the Brotherhood does, you can find a couple of underground bars. These places do often take bribe corrupt guards, but they exist.

Altaïr and I visited one such tavern after our mission then. The master of the house did not recognize either of us for what we were and thought it odd to apparently see two holy men going out for drinks, but he didn't say anything about it. I suppose that he must have gotten a lot of interesting patrons in his business.

We had started to drink. It wasn't long before Altaïr started boasting… about _everything_. His targets, his skill in battle, even how he climbed. I, myself, getting more and more inebriated, grew increasingly irritated until I shouted at Altaïr that I could climb to the top of the Citadel of Saladin faster than he could. Altaïr, especially at that age, was never one to back down from a challenge and quickly accepted. The two of us immediately left the bar and headed over to the Rich District to prepare to climb the building.

The both of us started to make our ascent, but as neither of us were at our best, it was a disaster. We had barely made it part way up one of the first walls before we both fell. I don't know what exactly Altaïr did, but I myself misjudged the distance of a hand hold and fell at the same time as my companion.

My right ankle broke and so did Altaïr's left arm. The two of us had to help each other back to the bureau. The Rafiq gave us both quite a scolding and we had to stay in Damascus for another five days before he decided that it was alright for us to leave and go back home, even though we were still hurt. Needless to say, if Altaïr and I were restless before we were definitely agitated then, especially since I couldn't exactly walk or climb from the bureau like I wanted to. Nor could Altaïr, really, as he couldn't climb out from the roof like he wanted to with his arm hurt like that.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

* * *

Note: So I would really love to try to answer all of the questions (I haven't gotten any spam/joke questions yet! Thank you!) and I am well aware that not everyone speaks English and that Google translate is a relatively handy source, but I cannot answer questions I don't understand. I apologize.


	22. Legacy

As an assassin of such high rank, it seems certain your name will be remembered for all of the assassin's history. Have you ever given thought to the legacy you will leave behind? What sort of details do you hope will be remembered of you generations from now?

* * *

Safety and peace.

I am honestly not as certain as you seem to be that I am going to be remembered in the future and that I will have a "legacy." If I am well known within the Assassin Brotherhood now it is because I am placed in charge when Altaïr decides to leave, or because I am the one that Darim and Sef refer to when they say "uncle."

I have not really given any thought at all about what I have done that will be remembered in the future of the Brotherhood because I do not think that I have made any major contributions or changes; it is usually people like that who's names are remembered for generations to come. The easiest example I can think of is Darius, who invented the hidden blade. Otherwise "famous" assassins are remembered for the famous assassinations they have done, such as Wei Yu (who murdered the Chinese Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, during the Qin Dynasty) or Leonius (who murdered Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, commonly referred to as Caligula, during the first century). I have not had a famous, high-profile assassination as such, nor have I personally invented anything that benefited the Brotherhood as a whole.

Altaïr, however, has already made so many changes to our organization that I am confident that he will be remembered for generations to come. A couple that I can name off of the top of my head is, first of all, the hidden blade. Most people, as I am sure you know, tend to favor their right hand over their left, so Altaïr created a hidden blade that could work for those people. He had offered one to me, but I declined; I reminded him only have five fingers left and I would rather not lose one of them. It was after that that he started to tinker with the idea of creating a hidden blade that doesn't require the sacrifice of a finger (he is not finished with it yet, though).

He also has changed the Brotherhood in that familial relationships are now encouraged, and Altaïr has talked about finding a way to make it so that the hidden blade poisoned the target. On top of that there are his ideas about science and the philosophy behind our order… even the small parts that I have seen in this codex that he has been working on…

I think that Altaïr is more likely to be remembered than I. That is not necessarily a bad thing, though.

If I were to leave a legacy of any kind, though, I would hope to be remembered as someone who was loyal and wise. I suppose that that is all I can really ask for.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	23. Alchemy and Speaking Foreign Languages

Gratings again Malik Al-Sayf.

You seem to love books and maps and speak at least one other language, how many languages do you speak? And what do you love to read about most? Also, and this may be a strange question, what do you know about alchemy and what are your opinions on it?

Sincerely,

Kuro Tsuki, Collectorofhats.

* * *

Safety and peace, Kuro Tsuki.

Well, I know Arabic, of course, as my native language. Hebrew, Turkish, and Persian are vital for being able to understand many people who live in the Middle East. These languages are helpful when listening to travelers, scholars, or occasionally guards who weren't born in Syria.

Maybe around twenty five or so years ago, the Dais and Rafiqs in charge of educating the novices decided that they would decide to teach them (or us, at the time) the languages of the crusaders; this primarily meant French and English, although they did point us in the direction of German, if we wanted to study more. I regret to say that I never actually got the chance to practice that particular language because I decided that it would be a better use of my time to focus on weapon training. However, the European languages we did learn were used to listen to primarily crusaders, of course. We did talk about Greek some, too, but my knowledge there has almost completely faded.

Most of the time, novices learn just the basics of each language, such as how to say hello and introduce yourself. We also teach them how to interrogate their enemies (questions such as "Who are you," "Who do you work for," "Where are you from," and "Where is your leader"). I tried to make it so that I could carry out an actual conversation with most people who are fluent in those languages.

I think that Persian was the easiest for me to learn; our alphabets are similar, even if the languages themselves are different. Hebrew was difficult, as all new languages are, but at least it reads from right to left like Arabic and Persian do.

Turkish, French, and English, though, are odd and were more difficult to grasp, in reading, especially, because their sentences are constructed backwards (that is, they are read from left to right). Their alphabets are somewhat similar as well, accents on the lettering and in speech aside. I think that, of the three, I used to be best at French. Now, though, I have picked up more English, seeing as how Maria often talks to Darim and Sef in her native tongue. She told me that it was important for her children to learn both sides of their heritage and I must say that I quite agree. Altaïr has learned more English than he had known before from his wife, too, though we both think that the language itself is confusing and doesn't really make sense a lot of the time (homonyms, especially, baffle me).

Moving on to your secondary question; alchemy. I know that it is a philosophical study, though the word itself comes from the Arabic, _al-kimiya_ (الكيمياء ), which was borrowed from the Greek, _chemeia _(χημεία). In Islamic alchemy, I know of a couple of important figures who made interesting discoveries; Jabir ibn Hayyan, Al-Kindi, and Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi. They mostly worked with the five classical elements (aether, air, water, earth, and fire), in addition to the two chemical elements (sulfur and mercury). Alchemy has also been studied, as far as I know, in Egypt, India, eastern Asia, and Europe.

Now, alchemy is not something that I have really studied, but from my basic knowledge, I know that the goal seems to transmute basic metals into more precious ones, such as gold or silver, using something known as the Philosopher's Stone. This Stone could also be used to create something called the Elixir of Life, which would allegedly make the drinker immortal.

Based upon my (admittedly very basic) knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone, it is… not something that I would want. While I respect alchemy for its contribution to science and the progress of knowledge, I do not think that a mythical substance such as the Stone should be in the hands of anyone.

First of all, there is the fact that it makes gold. I have no problem whatsoever with people working hard to earn their money; in fact, it builds character. It is also very rewarding to work for what you have. Just sitting there and using a Philosopher's Stone to get gold is not hard work at all, and it is practically the very definition of laziness. Also, if you have a substance that makes gold for you, you are a very easy target for theft and murder.

There is also the fact that it makes you immortal, which is not appealing to me at all. Yes, while it would be interesting for a while to have the extra time to gather more knowledge, I believe that in the end it would be terribly lonely to outlive one's friends. I have no desire at all to live for centuries after everyone that I have known and cared about is dead.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	24. The Easiest and the Most Difficult

Safety and Peace Malik. I am sorry if you answered a question like this before but what is the hardest part being an assassin? And what is the most rewarding part?

* * *

Safety and peace.

I apologize for the sort of late reply, I have had a flood of paperwork the last couple of days; Altaïr has been planning to promote the Creed in other parts of the world, expanding our influence. Within the next couple of years, he is going to visit Constantinople to try to set up a base there.

I feel comfortable sharing this information here, as my editor has assured me that many of the recipients of my letters are curious novices who wish to learn more about our order and the Creed. At the very least she has told me that none of the information shared here will be seen by our enemies.

I think that the most difficult part of being an assassin, in the beginning, was the actual killing. Many people are not… designed to desire to take another human's life. I suppose that you have not taken a life? I know that I tried to describe it in a previous letter (especially in regards to how it feels with each different weapon), but that is simply how it actually is.

I will talk about the hidden blade, here. It is… an almost surreal feeling, killing someone in that way. Often, you are holding your target, or at least very close to them. Their blood often spills over your hand, warm and wet and sticky. It is so dark it looks almost black. If you can see your targets' eyes, you can actually _see_ the life fade from them. I do not know how to describe it, actually, other than that something seems to… disappear inside. I have seen this countless times… I have even seen it in my own little brother's eyes.

I don't know if I ever got used to it, exactly, but you do sort of learn to… ignore it, in a way, for the people you are assigned to kill. That was one of the most difficult things about being an assassin.

Another thing that was difficult about being an assassin towards the beginning, as odd as it sounds, was learning to ignore your sense of self preservation. Running, jumping, and climbing are essential parts of being an assassin; they're the key to not only getting around and exploring whichever city you happen to be at the moment, but it is also the best way to escape, especially after a high-profile kill (these missions, though, are usually given to higher-ranked members of the Brotherhood, of course).

When running or climbing to escape, you will often find yourself running across rooftops, which is where the sense of self preservation comes in. As an assassin, you have to not stop to think about what you're doing while you run away. Your only thought _has _to be losing the guards before you get back to the Bureau so that you won't compromise the Brotherhood. You can't stop to look at a jump and think something along the lines of, "Wow, the next rooftop looks really far away! I wonder if I'll fall. I wonder if I'll get hurt. I wonder…"

You just have to keep going. Stopping to think and analyze what you're doing in the middle of a jump or climb or step… hesitating can mean the difference between life and death. Stopping mid-chase to calculate just how far away the next rooftop is a mistake I have made before and the outcome is never present.

My advice is to just trust your body. This is what you have been trained to do and you will soon be able to do it without even thinking, if you practice enough. If you stop and think, "I may not be able to make this jump," even if the guards are far enough away that they do not immediately start attacking you, you will not be able to make the jump. Half of climbing is psychological.

I think that the most difficult thing, however, was the death of my fellow assassins. When going out on a mission, you never knew who you were seeing for the last time. You never even knew if you would be returning home. When Masyaf was attacked by the Templars after an apprentice, Haras, turned traitor, almost everyone helped bury the bodies of both the citizens and assassins that were killed. Many of them I recognized and I honestly felt so guilty for not knowing their names, as I primarily knew their faces.

After this assault on the fortress, Al Mualim tried to compensate for the loss of ranks by sending novices to shadow higher-ranked assassins on their missions. They did not rise up in rank as often, leading to novices a little bit older than the average age for a while. These novices would go on missions with assassins to get a "hands on experience." This was a very frightening time for me because I was constantly worried each time Kadar went out on a mission with someone; I was afraid that I would never see him again every time he left Masyaf.

I know it was silly. He was about five years younger than me and was no longer the eight year old put in my charge when I was thirteen, but still. I was absolutely terrorized by the thought of Kadar's death.

I think that the most rewarding part is being able to know the difference we are making in the lives of innocents, even if they are ungrateful. Many people who live in the holy land see assassins as inhuman monsters (more than once I have heard people call us _jinn_) who carve a bloody swath through wherever we happen to be, not caring whom or what we harm and kill.

I am happy with the thought that I know I am making a difference in people's lives. Perhaps one less person would be kidnapped and sold into slavery by killing one slaver in Acre. Perhaps one less person will be a victim of sexual assault by the murder of one corrupt city official who thinks he can get away with anything. Perhaps one less person will be saved from poverty from the assassination of a ruler who overtaxes his citizens.

While the people who do not truly know what our order is or what we stand for, and they fear us because of it, I know that we are doing them a justice.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	25. How to Heal

Hello, again, Malik :D

This time I wanted to ask about your medical knowledge and skills (since you're an assassin and a rafiq after all). With your current status and experience, could you, for example: mend a broken limb, pull out a tooth, do a trepanation or... I don't know, assist in birth? :)

* * *

Safety and peace, Arsaja.

As a child, my training group we were trained in very basic first aid. This mostly consisted of just knowing how tight to wrap bandages and temporary patch jobs until you can get back to the Bureau or Masyaf for real medical attention.

After I became a Dai, I was required to learn a lot more about medical knowledge. Honestly, it hadn't interested me before, but it is actually quite fascinating, and there is always new knowledge being gathered; for example, just this year, it was discovered in Egypt by Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi that the human lower jaw is actually one piece, rather than two pieces that connect together at the chin. Of course, we already know about the physiology of the stomach and how blood flows from the right ventricle of the heart to the left ventricle, before the blood is pumped to the rest of the body.

For drugging a patient, there are two main drugs that we use; hemp and poppy seed. The former is mostly used to calm a patient down. Poppy, however, has a lot of uses. Yes, it can be used for therapeutic reasons, but it can also be used to relieve pain from gallbladder stones, for fevers, indigestion, eye, head and toothaches, pleurisy, and to induce sleep. You have to be careful, though, because poppy leaf extract CAN be lethal in high enough doses.

Surgery is not something that I have ever had to do myself, in the bureau. I wouldn't feel confident doing so anyways, seeing as how I have not been trained to do so, and I would not have the materials and supplies anyways. Surgery is uncommonly practiced by physicians and other medical affiliates due to a very low success rate; even then, the philosophy seems to be to cut away what isn't salvageable. Surgery is typically limited to fractures, dislocations, traumatic injuries resulting in amputation, and urinary disorders or other common infections. Afterwards, bloodletting and cauterization are often used as techniques.

Anesthesia and antisepsis were used for surgery. Wine, wined mixed with oil of roses, oil of roses alone, saltwater, or vinegar water is used to clean the patient, which have antiseptic properties. Frankincense, myrrh, cassia, and members of the laurel family, mercuric chloride are also used to prevent infections. Henbane, hemlock, soporific black nightshade, lettuce seeds, and opium are used for making a patient drowsy or occasionally knock them out. If they need to be knocked out fast, sometimes the surgeons will get the patient drunk by forcing him to drink wine.

As I said before, though, luckily I have never had to do surgery on people personally. The most I have had to do is sew up some pretty bad sword wounds and pull an arrow out of someone's leg.

Now for your specific inquiries, although I must ask; are you planning on becoming a healer yourself? Is that why you are asking these questions of me? Because I must say that the surgeons who live in Masyaf would be much better suited to answering in the specifics if you are looking to pursue this as a career.

To heal a broken leg, you must first of all make sure that there are no wounds on the outside, such as cuts or, in a worst case scenario, any bone protruding. Broken legs can usually result from mistakes while climbing, usually falling, so bone protrusions are (unfortunately) all too real a possibility. For the sake of this scenario, though, let us say that the leg is just broken and that there are no additional injuries.

First of all, you must be able to create a splint; usually wooden planks are the best for this, although a scabbard can be used in a pinch. You must bind the limb to the wood as tightly as possible. From there, try to keep the patient as still as possible. It is likely that your patient will have a limp from now on, but if you do everything properly you will be able to minimize the damage as much as possible.

Pulling out a tooth… you usually just have to get the correct tools and yank it out as quickly as possible, so as not to prolong the patient's suffering. You will have to give them a piece of cloth to stick in their mouth afterwards to help stop the bleeding.

Trepanning is difficult. I don't think that I have ever heard of any of the medics in Masyaf performing such a difficult surgery, so I do not know much about it. I know that trepanation can be used to try to cure various ailments, such as seizures or skull fractures. Other than that, I am comfortable in telling you that I don't know much about it.

I do not know anything about assisting in childbirth, either. I tried to read up on it some when Maria was pregnant for the first time, but it did not do much good; the midwives would not let Altaïr nor I into the room, despite the fact that he almost broke down the door trying to get to her. I trusted the women to do their jobs and both Maria and Darim (and Sef when he came along within the next couple of years) survived the birth and were healthy and safe.

I hope that I have answered your questions sufficiently.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf


	26. Depression

Hey, Malik,

Recently I've been having some big troubles in my life, and, well, I've been actually considering suicide on some occasions (not the "I'm cutting my veins already and writing fare-well letters as we speak" kind, but still).

Do you maybe have some advice for such thoughts? Did you yourself have thought about ending it all? And what is the view of assassin's on suicidal people in general?

With respect, Arsaja

* * *

Safety and peace, Arsaja.

I know very well what kind of thoughts that you are experiencing. If I am correct, you are perhaps not to the point where you are actually planning your death (saying goodbye to the people you love, giving away possessions, etc), but you are desperately hoping that some terrible accident will occur that results in your death.

I have experienced these thoughts myself. Although I never actually raised a blade to my wrists or throat, I was bitterly disappointed every time I woke up in the infirmary after the amputation of my arm. I honestly felt that the world, let alone the Brotherhood, had no place for me any more; I had gotten the treasure that Al Mualim required, yes, but I did not think that there was any point in my continued existence… especially since I had not only lost a limb and my position as a high-ranking assassin, but also my little brother, whom I had raised since I was thirteen (half of my life, by the time he died).

Now, the assassins generally view suicide and thoughts such as these as dishonorable, but I can not disagree more. I think that it takes a lot of personal strength to admit to yourself that you are thinking of ending things and it clearly displays this personal strength to make the decision to keep going, even though you want to die so badly.

To be honest, after I was released from the infirmary, I kept myself alive out of spite. Yes, somewhere in the back of my thoughts I still wanted to die… I thought that it would be easier to just have everything… end, than to live as I have to live now. Alone, as a cripple who had lost everything.

I decided that I wanted Altaïr to _see_ the damage he had caused with his actions and his utter and blatant disregard for the Creed. Even though I wanted things to end so badly, especially in the beginning, I would _force_ Altaïr to see what he had done and I forced myself every day in that bureau to be a living reminder for him of what he had done.

Now, I am very well aware of how cliché this sounds, but if you are thinking about ending things, wait because it will get better. I know, I know; that's probably what every single person you have talked to about this or all of the research you have done will have told you the same… so much so that you may be doubtful about this statement and are probably tired of hearing it, but I honestly believe it. If I had succumbed to the darkness in my mind back then, I would have never been able to experience the things that I have now. I would have never been able to meet Altaïr's children, nor would have I been able to help him run the Brotherhood (it's a good thing that I was around for the latter, too; I've seen his organizational skills, and I am certain that if I were not around our organization would not have progressed to the point it has now).

I can say with confidence that I am _glad _that I did not die back then, although if I could change things back then, I would not stop myself from feeling the way I felt because it made me who I am today.

I know how difficult it is to make the decision to continue when it all seems so pointless. My advice to you is to tell people how you feel. If you tell them about the dark emptiness inside of your mind, especially people who have experienced the same and surpassed it themselves, they will be able to help you. I really appreciate you telling me this.

If telling people is not a possibility for you (whether because you do not have someone other than me you can tell or because it is too difficult to tell someone else), I suggest making "checkpoints" for yourself. When I felt this way, I would give myself "goals." I would tell myself things like, "Just wait until the next meal, until you finish this map, until you go to bed, until a certain assassin leaves Jerusalem…" I continued with this until I did not feel the need to only get through a certain amount of time.

Once again, I really appreciate you coming to me about this and I certainly hope that you are able to beat your depression.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

* * *

Note: Normally I would leave this until after finals week, but this one seemed important.

I know EXACTLY where you are coming from, and I really wrote this from the heart. I am so sorry that you are depressed and (once again) I am well aware of how silly and ridiculous it sounds when people are constantly telling you "it gets better! :) :) :)"

Honestly, I know how badly you want this. When I was depressed (maybe two years ago, when I was in my junior year of high school because I was afraid of graduating and what the world would bring when I went to college. I was so afraid of what was going to happen and whether or not I was going to be successful in life) a day did not go by when I did not fantasize about getting hit by a bus on my way to class every morning. I wanted to die more than anything else in the world. Honestly, the only reason why I didn't actually kill myself was because I was worried about how my family would react finding my body and how it would mess up my little sister.

Now, though, I am completing my freshman year of college. I am enjoying my classes and I am still friends with the people I was friends with in high school (they did not immediately abandon me when I graduated like I had been imagining).

I won't pretend to know exactly what you're going through, but I beg of you; do NOT try to kill yourself! People care about you, and I honestly think that you are very strong and very brave for making it this far.

This goes for all of you who are reading this. Please message me if you are considering suicide, because I am here for you. I know exactly where you are coming from, and I WANT TO HELP YOU.

Otherwise, if you don't want to talk to me, the National Suicide Hotline for the United States is **1-800-273-8255**, or if you need specific help go to the _suicide prevention lifeline._ _org_ website, where they have specific lines for youth, Native Americans, members of the LGBT+ community, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people who speak Spanish, and more. Arsaja, according to your profile, you live in Lithuania, so the youth hotline is **8 800 28888**, or the women's hotline is **8 800 66366**.

As for people who do not live in either of these countries, I encourage you to look up the suicide hotline that is set up for your country or area.


	27. Mental Rifts

Dear Malik,

I've heard about warriors, who after too much fighting get something called "battle fatigue" How do those in the assassin brotherhood deal with it? Have you or Altair ever got it or something similar?

I apologize if these questions has already been answered, or are too similar to other questions.

Safety and peace, friend.

* * *

Safety and peace Fadinglight21.

I have not heard this phrase before, although I assume you are referring to the psychological issues that may result from constant exposure to death and fighting. I will admit that I do not know much about it, having primarily studied physical ailments.

I do know, however, that in the beginning, an assassin may feel more tired, nauseous, anxious, or restless. From there it can progress to something… much worse, involving severe anxiety, agitation, hypervigilance, self-destructive behavior, social isolation, depressed mood, trouble sleeping, or (in some cases) actually flashbacks to the people they've killed.

All of this I know from the brief conversations I've had with the women in the Brotherhood, as they are the ones that attempt to heal these mental rifts.

I believe I mentioned that there are women in the Brotherhood. Before Altaïr became Mentor and decided to allow women to become Assassins (a decision which could mostly be attributed to his relationship with Maria), there were still a handful of women who lived in the gardens. These women would offer their services to the Assassins when they required it (not sexually; if the Assassins seek that sort of solace they visit their wives or willing women who live in the cities). Mostly this council is available to people who are older, when the sheer number of people they have killed especially start to grate on them.

The women offer advice or attempt to sooth the minds of the Assassins who ask for their help. At the very least they offer an ear to listen to the problems, thoughts, and concerns.

Many Assassins, especially Masters, visit them with some frequency. The people they kill grate on them in a certain way, and there are other things too; these men have cut men in half, been bathed in the blood of strangers, and watched as wrong-place-wrong-time bystanders were slaughtered with arrows and swords and poison. They speak to the women to try to vent in a way that does not involve more combat.

I suppose that I sort of understand, though I would much rather prefer to keep my thoughts to myself. I know that this doesn't really help, but I prefer to work out my own problems if possible, and when I can't, I vent out my frustration with a sword or by shouting at Altaïr. I know that these aren't the most healthy coping mechanisms, especially since I (although I am… abashed to admit it) I still find myself dreaming about my younger brother's death. Sometimes when I find it difficult to sleep I walk around the fortress. I find the silence peaceful. You must keep in mind that my difficulty sleeping is not as severe an issue as the problems that many others are facing.

Altaïr, meanwhile, I am not sure exactly if he is having any of the aforementioned psychological problems, but I am certain that there are the deaths of particular people that continue to bother him to this day. When he is in a particularly dark mood he often stares into the Apple or talks to Maria.

Yours,

Malik Al-Sayf

* * *

Note: I happen to know a little bit about the history of PTSD as I did a report on it for my IB History class my senior year of high school. As such, I chose to focus on that, rather than Combat Stress Reaction.

There was no real concept of the psychological consequences of trauma, death, or battle until World War I. PTSD itself was dubbed "shell shock," due to the fact that the psychological damage seemed to affect soldiers who were nearby the impact of shells. Treatment for soldiers was brief, as it was assumed that the soldiers experiencing the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder were cowardly or weak, and as such, in European countries such as England and Germany, shot many of the soldiers for cowardice.

The actual phrase, "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" was not added to the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) nosologic classification scheme until 1980. Prior to that, PTSD was viewed as a form of stress response syndrome, which was a type of gross stress reaction.

Note #2: Thank you for continuing to ask questions! I've been suffering from not only a lack of motivation, but also writer's block. :') I know, I should be working on my other fic, "Life Goes On," but I haven't been able to actually... kick my but into gear. I'm hoping that I will be able to do so soon, though.


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